Planning, designing, and implementing a Cisco IP Telephony solution is a much more manageable task if you carefully consider each step outlined in this chapter before moving on to each subsequent step.

This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Cisco IP Telephony operates at a system level by interacting with many
different IP Telephony components: CallManager, IP phones, gateways,
applications, and much more. The system as a whole must be properly configured
and maintained to ensure a smooth, successful deployment. This book highlights
those best practices that aid in a successful deployment, and this chapter helps
you ensure that all aspects of the IP Telephony solution work together
seamlessly to meet business objectives and fulfill user expectations.

You'll notice a strong focus on PBX migration in this chapter because
this type of installation is becoming the most prevalent. However, successful
implementations of any telephony solution depend on careful planning. Most steps
covered in this chapter apply equally well to green field deployments (new
installations with no prior IP telephony) because most users have experienced
phone systems before and have a standard set of expectations. A good plan
ensures a smooth, methodical, documented deployment of the complete Cisco
CallManager solution. This chapter focuses first on the current environment as
it covers these topics:

Assessing and documenting the current network infrastructure to ensure
proper quality of service (QoS), availability, and security

Documenting the existing and desired dial plan, classes of service,
analog requirements, recording needs, and the call detail record (CDR) method to
ensure transparency of operation

Talking with existing users to determine the current applications in use,
phone usage patterns, and most-used features

Understanding the various add-on hardware in use by end users, including
headsets, conference room microphones, amplifiers, wallboards (used in call
centers for displaying real-time queue statistics), and recording
equipment

Choosing Cisco equipment

Then the focus of the chapter progresses to the actual implementation of the
solution, with topics such as:

Creating various templates for phone creation

Selecting training topics

Establishing a rollout plan

Developing a second-day support plan

Creating a problem reporting and escalation plan

Establishing operations procedures

Read the Solution Reference Network Designs

This book is not meant to be a design guide. Cisco Solution Reference Network
Designs (SRND), shown in Figure 1-1, provide guidelines for designing network
infrastructures. The SRNDs are based on the experiences of many Cisco customers
and engineers and give you information that outlines the best deployments. The
SRNDs supply design guidance to implement an overall network architecture.
There's no reason to repeat that information here, because all the SRNDs
can be found on Cisco.com at either of the following links: